Overview

This exhibit celebrates Thomas Moran (1837 - 1926), preeminent nineteenth century American landscape painter. A member of the Hudson River School, Moran's luminous artwork captured the grandeur of the West and unusual natural features of the Yellowstone region.

Moran's powerful images were critical to the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, and subsequently to the founding of the National Park Service in 1916. By the time of his death in 1926, the artist had painted many other Western landscapes that would become national parks or monuments. Thomas Moran's works will be forever associated with Yellowstone National Park and the grand vistas of the American West.

Teaching with Museum Collections Lesson Plan
"The Campaign for Yellowstone"

Thomas Moran's Diary